Brothers Ivanushka and his sister Alyonushka. Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there lived two orphans, the brother Ivanushka and his sister Alenushka. Alenushka was older than her brother. They had nothing to live on; they only had a small amount of food, which they quickly ran out of. They lived with a guardian, but when their money ran out, their guardian kicked them out of the house. After that, they wandered from village to village, with Alenushka taking on jobs.

As they walked one day, clouds gathered, it looked like it was going to rain, and the ground became damp with puddles forming. The sun came out, and the heat began. At that moment, Ivanushka said, “Sister, I’m going to drink from this horse's hoofprint.” Alenushka replied, “Don’t drink, brother, you’ll turn into a horse!” They continued on their way. A little while later, Ivanushka said again, “Sister, I’m thirsty, I’m going to drink from this cow's hoofprint.” Alenushka warned again, “Don’t drink, Ivanushka, you’ll turn into a cow!” They moved on. At one point, Ivanushka said, “Sister, I’m going to drink from this puddle.” Alenushka cautioned him, “That’s a goat's hoofprint; if you drink, you’ll turn into a goat!” Ivanushka said nothing and drank anyway, and then he turned into a goat, bleating, “Maa-aa!”

They went on and soon arrived at a large estate. Alenushka wanted to find work there. There was a wealthy bachelor living alone, who saw Alenushka and hired her as a servant. Before long, the bachelor began to express his desire to marry her.

However, there was a girl visiting from afar who also wanted to marry the bachelor. She hated Alenushka and sought to harm her. So, she hired a cruel man to put Alenushka in a barrel and drown her. They placed her in the barrel at night and threw it into the river. Meanwhile, the goat—Ivanushka—was to be slaughtered.

The goat approached the bachelor, saying, “Master, master, let me go to the riverbank to relieve myself,” and the bachelor allowed it. The goat reached the river and cried out:

“Sister Alenushka, Knives are being sharpened, They are preparing to slaughter me, the goat!”

Alenushka replied from the bottom of the water:

“The stone is pulling me down, The grass is binding my hands, Grief is gnawing at my heart!”

The goat ran back to the bachelor and urged him again. The bachelor went to track the goat. The goat rushed back to the river and shouted once more:

“Sister Alenushka, The cauldrons are boiling, Knives are being sharpened, They are preparing to slaughter me, the goat!”

At that moment, the bachelor heard Alenushka’s voice and called the fishermen. They rescued Alenushka from the water, warmed her up in the bathhouse, and took her home. The bachelor married her, and the goat stayed by their side.

When their guardian heard about Alenushka’s marriage to the wealthy man, he invited them over for a visit. The guardian apologized and invited them to a feast. Alenushka responded:

“A guardian can be forgiven, but it is wrong to hurt orphans!”

Thus, they parted ways and never met again for the rest of their lives.